Death
By 1977 Denny's substance abuse issues had worsened. During her pregnancy, she drank and took cocaine. Linda Thompson told The Guardian that shortly after Georgia's birth, Denny "was crashing the car and leaving the baby in the pub and all sorts of stuff." Thompson also noted that the child was premature, yet Denny seemed to have little concern for her new baby.
In late March 1978, when husband Trevor Lucas was on one of his "disappearing acts", on holiday with her parents and baby in Cornwall, Denny was injured when she fell down a staircase and hit her head on concrete. Following the incident, Denny suffered from intense headaches; a doctor prescribed her the painkiller Distalgesic, a drug known to have fatal side effects when mixed with alcohol. On April 1 Denny performed one last charity concert at Byfield several days after the fall. Concerned with his wife's erratic behaviour and fearing for his daughter's safety, Denny's husband Trevor Lucas fled the UK back to his native Australia with their child several weeks after the accident, leaving Sandy without telling her on Thursday 13 April.
On Monday 17 April Denny collapsed and fell into a coma while at friend Miranda Ward's home. Four days later, she died at Atkinson Morley Hospital in Wimbledon. Her death was ruled to be the result of a traumatic mid-brain haemorrhage and blunt force trauma to her head. The funeral took place on 27 April 1978 at Putney Vale Cemetery. After the vicar had read Denny's favourite psalm - Psalm 23 (The Lord is my Shepherd) - a piper played "The Flowers of the Forest", a traditional song commemorating the fallen of Flodden Field. The inscription on her headstone reads, "'The Lady'" Alexandra Elene MacLean Lucas (Sandy Denny) 6.1.47 - 21.4.78."
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